Morning came quickly, it was 4:59 am, Crystal always woke up before the alarm. She stealthily walked into the bathroom and brushed her teeth. As if forgetting something, she rushed back, mouth foaming and all just to put the alarm clock right beside Ken's ears.
It was her way of waking him up, and he hated it. She knew if course, that motivated her to do it more. After carefully aligning it beside his ear, she looked at the time again and realized there was just twenty seconds left for it to go off.
She quickly straightened herself, preparing to bolt out of the room when he got up but she tripped on something, falling on him.
"Woah!"
He was startled out of wonderland into reality, staring blankly and blinking rapidly at her flushed face beside him it took a few seconds for him to come to terms with the sight in front of him, foam that formed a beard around her mouth with a toothbrush sticking out, she looked truly comical.
They both started laughing, she tried to hold hers in because her mouth was stuffed but he had other plans, he drove his index finger deep into her abdomen then quickly realized it was a mistake.
As she squirmed and finally let it out, the toothpaste in her mouth just flew out in a projectile, drenching his face. "Oh dear, do you have any idea the magnitude of trouble you're in?" Ken asked amid laughter.
He got out of bed and scooped her in his arms, walking blindly as his eyes were closed, "wait, where are we going?!" Crystal asked in panic, to which he replied, "bathroom of course, where else?"
Crystal then laughed, "are your eyes closed? You'll throw me out the damn window!" He stopped, "of course my eyes are closed, it burns! Now which way!?"
"A little to the right. More. One more step, now straight. More. More. Okay blind man, put me down."
Crystal, now on her feet, grabbed Ken by the arm and led him towards the sink, asked him to bend over as she methodically scoops some of the running water from the tap into her palm to rinse his face.
They showered together afterwards and dressed in a hurry. It was fifteen minutes past five by the time they finished dressing up and headed out, Crystal stopped just at the mouth of the spiral staircase, remembering to go wake Iris up. She was surprised though when she knocked and after hearing no response, pushed the door slightly ajar and poked her head inside, she wasn't in bed, "honey? Are you up?" She asked, and her answer took a while to come, and not from the room at that, "I'm up mom, just not up there." The voice sounded like it came from downstairs, she furrowed her eyebrows, then rushed down after Ken.
They paused when they reached the living room, the aroma that assaulted their nostrils was undeniable, it make their stomachs growl at once, beside the dining table stood Iris, hands on her hips, a wide smile on her flour covered face. "Hi mom, hi dad, I made breakfast." She said with a cheeky smile.
Ken and his wife exchanged glances, then went to sit at the dining table. "One second please, I think the oatmeal should be done by now." She added as they sat down, then scampered right off.
"Please tell me I'm not dreaming darling. Am I really up? Or it's just a dream?" Crystal asked Ken in an undertone, the latter just shrugged and said, "I could pinch you if that really is what you need to tell the difference between dreams and reality." He waved the thumb and index fingers on both hands at her, the way a crab would. "She shrunk away from him.
"If you guys really want to have a tête-à-tête, wait till I'm out of the house completely for as long as I'm within these walls, every sound, no matter how distant, how low or high the decibel level is, is within earshot to me." They heard her say from the kitchen doorway.
She walked elegantly with the pot balanced in her vicelike grip, mimicking her mom's very movements and mannerisms when serving the family, her mom laughed. "If you think you're mimicking me, then you're doing a very bad job."
She dropped the pot on the table with an exaggerated thump and poured, hands on her hips looking like a tea pot.
With a furrow and the best voice mimic of her mother she could muster , she asked her parents, looking from face to face, "who ate a pancake?"
This completely threw her parents off guard, her mom especially was taken aback because she played the role so perfectly, it was just as if Iris was a natural extension of her literally. They all laughed heartily and sat down to eat.
After they finished eating, Iris then went back to her room to shower and get dressed. "Dad! Please come help me with the bags." She called to her father after cross checking her handbag to see if her passport and everything else was stowed away. Her dad entered the room barely seconds later and heaved the biggest bag onto his shoulder, carried the smaller one by the strap in his left hand and exited the room.
Iris stood in the center of the room, taking in everything for one last time. She sighed and muttered to herself, "you better be worth it, Ghana." Almost every western country has heard so many things ag out Ghana, most being diabolically cooked lies that only a select few actually get the chance to see for themselves. She was lucky. She would know firsthand if all the laughable things her middle school mates used to say about Africa were true. That lightened her mood a bit as she switched off the air conditioner and stepped beyond her door, not coming back anytime soon.
Her mom had just exited her room too, carrying a large traveling bag, apparently she was scheduled to stay with her daughter for a week or two, make sure she got tucked in well and had familiarized herself with the foreign terrain, culture among others before she would fly back to be with her husband in the states.
Packing in the boot of his Lexus, Ken ushered mother and daughter into the car and drove off. It was five minutes past six when their car drove off their driveway towards the airport. Ken would circle back to the house after dropping them off to pack his luggage too, he had a 3-day field trip arranged for all the workers at his workplace. He spoke very little about his job, even to his wife so she was careful not to ask too many questions.
The silence was too loud, everyone was wrapped in his or her own thoughts, far far away. Iris was on instagram, saying her goodbyes to her friends, those she would miss.
Her phone wouldn't stop ringing, but for reasons unbeknownst to her mom and dad, she preferred not to answer and answered with texts instead. They understood perfectly and didn't question that.
With careful thought and desire to ease the ephemeral tension in the car, Ken turned on the radio and it turned out to be the best decision he had made that morning so far, Taylor Swift's euphoric 'shake it off' was playing, the deus ex machina the ameliorated the situation and sent the eerie silence away, with the wind through the unopen windows.
Even Iris got off her phone to let out some steam, everyone was vibing all of a sudden. Ken was more than a little pleased at what he'd achieved.
Thirty minutes later, they were pulling up in the car park, Ken gingerly turned off the engine, waited for everyone to get down and then opened the boot, got everything out and prepared to go in with them. Turned out his wife had other plans though, "you'd be late for your field trip darling, we'll take care of the rest. I'll let you know when we're aboard the plane." He understood her concern, it was valid after all since it was almost 7 am.
He looked at them both forlornly and they each took turns hugging him, Iris the longest. He kissed her on her forehead and whispered something in her ears that actually calmed her down and got her in a lighter mood that instant. Crystal tried to eavesdrop but failed.
"Okay, young lady, you're hugging my man way too long." With that, she playfully tried to pry them apart but Iris was like a leach, arms wrapped around her father and face buried in his suit, she refused to budge.
An eternity passed and she was still clinging to Ken, she finally let go reluctantly and stood aside for her mom's turn. She watched them both as tears welled up in her eyes desperately but miserably failing to blink them back, staining her cheeks.
Ken whispered something into his wife's ears too, she smiled and pulled her face away from his chest, inches away from his face, they locked lips briefly and pulled apart.
Ken looked at his daughter one last time and realized she was giggling, he furrowed his brows and asked what the problem was. Turned out his lips and suit were both lipstick stamped. They all laughed and he hugged them both at the same time, "everyone at work has to see this today and know what lucky a man I am."
A security guard watching from a distance approached the happy family and offered to help with their bags. It was at this point that they finalized their goodbyes and Ken drove off. "Where are you guys headed, if I may ask?" The security guard asked politely. Crystal answered, "Terminal three. We're going to Ghana. "
Surprise flashed across his face briefly but he didn't say anything more as he carried the smallest of Iris' bags and pulled the bigger one on its wheels after him, Crystal insisted she would wheel hers herself so she did. Hey soon got to their waiting area and the guy bid them farewell and good luck then prepared to leave, Crystal wanted to thank him in a few notes but she politely declined, instantly blending with the crowd and disappearing from their line of sight.